II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5185 

To establish a grant program to support qualified community colleges, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program to support qualified community 

colleges, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Funding Community 

5 College Infrastructure Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) GOVERNING BODY.—The term ‘‘governing 

9 body’’ means— 


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1 (A) the board of trustees or other gov2 erning organization of a qualified community 

3 college; or 

4 (B) a State, local, or Indian Tribal govern5 ment (or any political subdivision thereof), or 

6 any combination of local educational agencies or 

7 municipalities, that participates or proposes to 

8 participate in the establishment and operation 

9 of a qualified community college. 

10 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

13 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

14 (3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

15 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

16 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec17 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), ex18 cept such term shall include any elementary school 

19 or secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian 

20 Education, notwithstanding section 8101(30)(C) of 

21 such Act. 

22 (4) QUALIFIED AREA.—The term ‘‘qualified 

23 area’’ means any of the following: 


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1 (A) A city, metropolitan statistical area, or 

2 county that does not contain any institution de3 scribed in paragraph (5)(A). 

4 (B) A low-income community (as defined 

5 in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code 

6 of 1986). 

7 (5) QUALIFIED COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The 

8 term ‘‘qualified community college’’ means a public 

9 institution of higher education— 

10 (A) at which the highest degree that is 

11 predominantly awarded to students is an asso12 ciate degree (including 2-year tribally controlled 

13 colleges under section 316 of the Higher Edu14 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c) and pub15 lic 2-year institutions of higher education); 

16 (B) that is established by and operated 

17 under the supervision of a governing body in 

18 conjunction with the State, local, and Indian 

19 tribal governments whose residents will be 

20 served by such institution; and 

21 (C) that is located within a qualified area. 

22 (6) QUALIFIED PURPOSE.—The term ‘‘qualified 

23 purpose’’ means— 

24 (A) establishing and operating a qualified 

25 community college; 


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1 (B) expanding an existing qualified com2 munity college to a qualified area; 

3 (C) constructing, rehabilitating, repairing, 

4 upgrading, enhancing, or expanding any facility 

5 owned or to be used by a qualified community 

6 college to carry out the educational purposes 

7 (including instructional and research purposes) 

8 of such college; 

9 (D) providing equipment for use by stu10 dents at a qualified community college; 

11 (E) investing in online resources or 

12 broadband access projects to deliver community 

13 college services to qualified areas, or developing 

14 course materials for education to be provided by 

15 a qualified community college, provided that 

16 such uses do not collectively account for more 

17 than 10 percent of the grant amount awarded 

18 under this Act for such college; 

19 (F) training professors and other school 

20 personnel at a qualified community college, pro21 vided that such use does not account for more 

22 than 5 percent of the grant amount awarded 

23 under this Act for such college; 

24 (G) constructing, rehabilitating, repairing, 

25 upgrading, enhancing, or expanding any onVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Oct 09, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5185.IS S5185

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1 campus facility to be used by a qualified com2 munity college to— 

3 (i) provide childcare to students and 

4 staff, provided that such use does not ac5 count for more than 10 percent of the 

6 grant amount awarded under this Act for 

7 such college; or 

8 (ii) provide affordable housing, with a 

9 priority given to students and staff; and 

10 (H) connecting students with transpor11 tation to a qualified community college, includ12 ing partnering with public transit providers 

13 to— 

14 (i) add bus, rail, or paratransit stops 

15 at or within walking distances of the cam16 pus; 

17 (ii) add bus, rail, or paratransit 

18 routes to allow for transportation between 

19 the campus and surrounding areas and 

20 other cities; 

21 (iii) increase the frequency of service 

22 or adjust the schedules for bus, rail, or 

23 paratransit routes to allow students to get 

24 to and from their classes; and 


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1 (iv) subsidize bus, rail, or paratransit 

2 costs for students. 

3 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Education. 

5 (8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

6 the several States of the United States, the District 

7 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

8 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern 

9 Mariana Islands, Guam, or the United States Virgin 

10 Islands. 

11 (9) STATE HIGHER EDUCATION AGENCY.—The 

12 term ‘‘State higher education agency’’ means the of13 ficer or agency primarily responsible for the State 

14 supervision of higher education. 

15 SEC. 3. COMMUNITY COLLEGE GRANTS. 

16 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—From amounts made 

17 available to carry out this Act, the Secretary shall award 

18 grants, on a competitive basis, to governing bodies for 

19 qualified purposes relating to a qualified community col20 lege. 

21 (b) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A governing body desiring a 

23 grant under this Act shall submit an application to 

24 the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 


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1 containing such information as the Secretary may 

2 require. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—An application described in 

4 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

5 (A) A description of— 

6 (i) the financial sustainability of the 

7 proposal, including how the governing body 

8 will leverage other sources of funding; and 

9 (ii) how the qualified purposes pro10 posed with respect to the qualified commu11 nity college will fill an unmet need within 

12 a qualified area. 

13 (B) Any relevant approvals with respect to 

14 the proposal that have been granted by any ap15 plicable State, local, or Indian Tribal govern16 ment or appropriate accrediting body. 

17 (C) A certification that the governing 

18 body— 

19 (i) has consulted with the jurisdictions 

20 in which the qualified community college 

21 is, or will be, located; and 

22 (ii) has the written approval of the 

23 State higher education agency for the pro24 posal. 


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1 (D) In the case of an application proposing 

2 to establish a new qualified community college 

3 and in addition to the requirements under sub4 paragraphs (A), (B), and (C)— 

5 (i) whether such proposal has received 

6 approval from the State higher education 

7 agency; and 

8 (ii) a description of the sustainability 

9 of such qualified community college, in10 cluding any commitment from any State, 

11 local, or Indian Tribal government to pro12 vide additional funding for such college. 

13 (c) PRIORITIES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In awarding grants under 

15 this Act for a fiscal year and subject to paragraph 

16 (2), the Secretary shall— 

17 (A) give highest priority to— 

18 (i) applications that propose to estab19 lish a qualified community college that will 

20 serve the residents of the State’s largest 

21 metropolitan statistical area that does not 

22 contain an institution described in section 

23 2(5)(A); or 

24 (ii) in the case of a State for which no 

25 applications described in clause (i) are subVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:02 Oct 09, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5185.IS S5185

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1 mitted, applications that propose to estab2 lish a qualified community college that will 

3 serve the residents of the State’s largest 

4 micropolitan statistical area that does not 

5 contain an institution described in section 

6 2(5)(A); 

7 (B) after applying subparagraph (A), give 

8 high priority to any governing body that— 

9 (i) has a partnership, or agrees to 

10 enter into a partnership upon receipt of 

11 the grant, with— 

12 (I) 1 or more local high schools, 

13 as defined in section 8101 of the Ele14 mentary and Secondary Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), includ16 ing a dual or concurrent enrollment 

17 program (as defined in such section); 

18 (II) a 4-year institution of higher 

19 education that includes a credit-trans20 fer agreement or articulation agree21 ment (as defined in section 486A(a) 

22 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1093a(a))) for students at 

24 the qualified community college; or 


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1 (III) a State workforce develop2 ment board established under section 

3 101 of the Workforce Innovation and 

4 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3111); or 

5 (ii) is the governing body of, has a 

6 partnership with, or agrees to enter into a 

7 partnership upon receipt of the grant with, 

8 an institution that is— 

9 (I) a part B institution (as de10 fined in section 322 of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 1061)); 

13 (II) a Historically Black Grad14 uate Professional School (as identified 

15 in section 326(e) of such Act (20 

16 U.S.C. 1063b(e))); 

17 (III) a Hispanic-serving institu18 tion (as defined in section 502(a) of 

19 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a))); 

20 (IV) a Tribal College or Univer21 sity (as defined in section 316(b) of 

22 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))); 

23 (V) an Alaska Native-serving in24 stitution or a Native Hawaiian-serving 

25 institution (as such terms are defined 


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1 in section 317(b) of such Act (20 

2 U.S.C. 1059d(b))); 

3 (VI) a Predominantly Black in4 stitution (as defined in section 371(c) 

5 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c))); 

6 (VII) an Asian American and 

7 Native American Pacific Islander8 serving institution (as defined in sec9 tion 371(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

10 1067q(c))); or 

11 (VIII) a Native American-serving 

12 nontribal institution (as defined in 

13 section 371(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

14 1067q(c))); and 

15 (C) after applying subparagraphs (A) and 

16 (B), give priority to any governing body that 

17 agrees to use not less than 80 percent of the 

18 grant funds provided under this section for 

19 qualified community college construction or ren20 ovation that is certified, verified, or consistent 

21 with the applicable provisions of— 

22 (i) the Leadership in Energy and En23 vironmental Design green building rating 

24 standard of the United States Green 

25 Building Council; 


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1 (ii) the Living Building Challenge 

2 green building certification program devel3 oped by the International Living Future 

4 Institute; 

5 (iii) a green building rating program 

6 developed by the Collaborative for High7 Performance Schools that is designated as 

8 CHPS Verified; or 

9 (iv) a green building program that— 

10 (I) has standards that are equiv11 alent to or more stringent than the 

12 standards of a program described in 

13 clause (i), (ii), or (iii); 

14 (II) is adopted by the State or 

15 another jurisdiction with authority 

16 over the qualified community college; 

17 and 

18 (III) includes a verifiable method 

19 to demonstrate compliance with the 

20 program. 

21 (2) CUMULATIVE LIMITATION PER STATE.—The 

22 Secretary shall ensure that the total amount of 

23 grant funds awarded under this Act to all governing 

24 bodies located in a State for any fiscal year shall not 

25 exceed the greater of— 


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1 (A) the amount equal to 10 percent of all 

2 grant funds awarded under this Act for such 

3 fiscal year; or 

4 (B) $50,000,000. 

5 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 

6 grant under this Act shall use— 

7 (1) not less than 95 percent of the grant funds 

8 for a qualified purpose with respect to a qualified 

9 community college; and 

10 (2) not more than 5 percent of the grant funds 

11 for administrative expenses associated with the 

12 grant. 

13 (e) REPORTS.—By not later than 2 years after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter 

15 for the duration of the grant program under this Act, the 

16 Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress a report 

17 on the grant program that— 

18 (1) describes the uses of grant funds; and 

19 (2) includes information on the regions and stu20 dents served through the program. 

21 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this Act a total of $10,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2026 

24 through 2035. 

Æ 


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